IN BRAZIL

In Brazil, you can commune with spirits and you can party with gods. In Brazil, you can learn a lot about life, heroes, and possibilities. We might think we know about Brazil. We've watched the World Cup, we've heard about the danger and the corruption; we've seen the samba and the rainforest. But Brazil still holds many secrets.

Over many years, Fran Bryson developed a fascination with Brazil that slowly became an obsession. Over several journeys she discovered the country: from the glittering modern city of Brasilia to the small, deeply religious towns; from the inner reaches of the Amazonian jungle to the vibrant backlands – home to cowboys and troubadours. In Brazil is Fran's experience of travelling through one of the world's most colourful and contradictory nations and, in doing so, making sense of her life and the world around her.

Fran Bryson is a travel writer and a former literary agent. She lives on Flinders Island, largest of the Furneaux islands, in the treacherous waters of Bass Strait, in south-eastern Australia. In the course of researching and writing In Brazil, Fran took psychedelic drugs in the middle of the Amazon, sought out ancient and modern-day religious cults, and performed with a dance school as part of Carnival in Rio.